James Scarola, the Burlington man accused of sexually assaulting and attempting to kill his wife in 2013, is trying to back out of his plea on one count under an agreement he reached with prosecutors earlier this year.

Scarola, 42, pleaded no contest in March to charges of attempted second-degree murder and sexual assault and guilty to aggravated domestic assault. He was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison for domestic assault and attempted murder, but he has yet to be sentenced on the sexual assault charge. The pleas resulted in his conviction on all charges.

"Mr. Scarola makes this request because he did not know and adequately understand the consequences of his plea, and as such, did not voluntarily enter into the plea of no contest to the sexual assault charge," states a motion filed by his lawyer, Sandra Lee.

Scarola is asking only to withdraw his plea on the sexual assault charge, for which he had been scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Scarola already has been sentenced on the other two charges.

The no-contest plea meant Scarola neither admitted nor disputed the charges but acknowledged there was the potential for conviction if the case were to go to trial.

Judge Michael Kupersmith plans to hear arguments Friday on Scarola's request, along with a motion by his lawyer, Lee, to withdraw as counsel.

In her request, Lee states that a "basic trust between counsel, the Chittenden County Public Defender's Office and Mr. Scarola has been lost," and she no longer can provide effective assistance. Scarola unsuccessfully attempted to remove Lee from his case last July when he complained that she was ineffective.

The two motions had been filed in court together Monday.

Lee did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Scarola had filed a letter to the court on April 13, weeks after sentencing on his first two charges, claiming he had been "strong-armed" by his attorneys into accepting the plea agreement.

"It is an undisputable fact that an overwhelming amount of evidence that would have benifitted my case was withheld from me, manipulated by the police, and thrown in the garbage by Colleen Bray's family," Scarola wrote in the letter, referring to his ex-wife, whom prosecutors say he attacked in September 2013.

"I wasn't told that my sentencing was scheduled until five minutes before I was first shown the agreement and forced, despite a call to the courthouse by the Department of Corrections informing the court of my 102 degree fever, to walk into the courtroom that morning."

Deputy Chittenden County State's Attorney Mary Morrissey said the April 13 letter foreshadowed the motions that were coming.

The court may permit the withdrawal of a plea before sentencing "if the defendant shows any fair and just reason and that reason substantially outweighs any prejudice which would result to the state from the withdrawal of the plea," the motion to withdraw states.

The plea agreement called for a sentence of 20 years to life in prison on the sexual-assault charge. The sentence would be served at the same time as the other prison terms. The deal also mandates Scarola's participation in sex-offender counseling.

Morrissey said a decision in favor of Scarola "could effectively void the agreement that was reached."

Prosecutors say Scarola struck Bray in the head with a baseball bat after she returned to her Blodgett Street home early Sept. 22, 2013, while the couple's two children slept upstairs. The couple were going through a divorce.

The Burlington Free Press typically does not identify victims of sexual assault but has received permission from Bray and her family to use her name.

Scarola was a self-published author of horror, suspense and science-fiction stories, and he had held a sparsely attended book-launch the evening of the incident.

He called emergency services shortly after the attack and reported that he and his wife had gotten into a confrontation, and his wife "had gotten hurt pretty bad." Doctors at the time said Bray had a 5 percent chance of living. Bray suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in critical condition for weeks at the hospital.

Scarola has been held without bail at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town since his arrest.

This story was first posted online June 24, 2015. Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LizMurraySMC.